All info you need to see before the 2024 Las Vegas F1 GP starts
The 2024 Formula 1 season is setting to close its calendar with the last three races. The first will be the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix on 23 November, the event's second edition. With Max Verstappen's brilliant win in Brazil, the World Drivers' Championship looks like a done deal, and Verstappen could seal it in the upcoming race.
Verstappen to Seal Championship Glory?
Max Verstappen's eighth win of the season came at the perfect moment, and Lando Norris' struggles in Brazil showed why the Dutchman is a level above in this title fight. The Red Bull driver snapped a 10-race winless streak in Brazil and now has a 62-point gap over the McLaren driver (393 to 331). Thus, the title could be sealed at Las Vegas if the Dutchman finishes ahead of Norris.
Moreover, if Norris finishes ahead of Verstappen in the points, but doesn't outscore him by three points or more, the Dutchman will become a four-time World Champion this weekend. There will be 60 points available in the final two rounds after Las Vegas.
Verstappen won in Las Vegas last year, but it wasn't easy, as he faced big competition from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
Leclerc is third in the WDC for Ferrari with 307 points and could be in the mix for the race win in Las Vegas once more. McLaren's Oscar Piastri is fourth in the championship with 262 points, ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz (244).
McLaren is still comfortable in the World Constructors' Championship with 593 points. Ferrari is second with 557 points, while Red Bull is third with 544.
Alpine's double podium in Brazil (28 points) with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon puts them ahead of Haas and in sixth place among teams with 49 points. Sauber (Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu) remain scoreless in 2024.
2024 Las Vegas GP Facts & Figures
The 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the 79th Formula 1 World Championship race held in the United States (tying the second-biggest tally in history among countries) and the last of the trio of races in the country in 2024, after the Miami Grand Prix and the US GP at Austin.
The country hosted eight different GPs by title, including the Indianapolis 500 (11 between 1950 and 1960), US Grand Prix (four different eras since 1959), US Grand Prix West (eight between 1976 and 1983), a couple of Caesars Palace GPs in 1981 and 1982, Detroit GP (from 1982 to 1988), Dallas GP in 1984 and the Miami Grand Prix since 2022.
In 2023, the Las Vegas GP became the eighth different race celebrated in the US.
No other country has hosted more different GPs by name than the US, with Italy coming in second place with five (Italian, Pescara, San Marino, Tuscan, and Emilia Romagna GP).
The United States has had 12 different circuits hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix, the most of any country.
Las Vegas hosted the Caesars Palace GP in 1981 and 1982 in the parking of the Caesars Palace Hotel. The races were won by Alan Jones and Michele Alboreto, driving for Williams and Tyrrell, respectively.
Max Verstappen won the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023 from second on the grid.
Las Vegas Strip Circuit Info
The 6.201 km Las Vegas Strip street circuit has 17 corners and a huge straight of 1.900 km in the third sector that demands tremendous engine power and efficiency throughout the weekend.
Ahead of last year's race, Formula 1's official website gave a short review of the track: "Located in the heart of Las Vegas, the new 6.2km, 17-turn street circuit winds its way past iconic locations like Caesars Palace, the Bellagio, and the Venetian. With average speeds expected to match Monza, otherwise known as F1’s ‘Temple of Speed’, there promises to be plenty of action and overtaking."
Saturday night's race will go for 50 laps and a total distance of 309.958 km.
The first sector includes a twisty section for the first four corners, and it is then followed by a shorter straight and a 90-degree right-hander Turn 5 that will send cars into another twisty section formed from corners six to nine. Then, the circuit has two fast corners, Turns 10 and 11. The big acceleration zone, which includes the second DRS area, in sector 3, goes from Turn 12 to 14.
The final section of the track includes an 800m straight that has a high-speed left-hander that will send cars into the start-finish zone to complete the lap.
In 2023, Charles Leclerc took Pole Position with a lap time of 1:32.726 min. In the race, Oscar Piastri set the Fastest Lap with 1:35.490 min.
2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Tyres
The dry tyres for the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix will be the C3 as P Zero White hard, C4 as P Zero Yellow Medium, and C5 as P Zero Red soft.
Pirelli explained their view for the upcoming event with a press release: " This weekend sees Formula 1 racing in Las Vegas for a fourth time. After two events run on a track built up around Caesars Palace in 1981 and 1982, last year Grand Prix racing found a new home in the entertainment capital of the world, with the track using part of the famous Strip from which it takes its name...
After the 7.004 kilometre-long Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the Nevadan track is the second longest on the calendar at 6.201 kilometres. It features 17 corners, tackled over 50 times in the race. It is a high speed venue, with three straights and top speeds that hit 350 km/h last year, with several overtaking opportunities, especially at turn 14.
Once again this year, track action begins with two free practice sessions getting the event underway on Thursday, leading up to the race on Saturday night, run entirely under floodlights. There are other events that do the same – Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Qatar and Abu Dhabi – but none feature such a big drop in temperature between day and night as this weekend’s event.
This is due to the city’s location in the Mojave desert, while the other four are all just a short distance from the sea. Furthermore, the November date rules out the more usual spring or summer weather enjoyed at most Grands Prix. It is therefore very likely that cars will be running in air temperatures of around 10 °C, with quite similar track temperatures...
The main challenge on the tyre front will be warm-up, especially during qualifying and for the front axle in particular.
Drivers will have to be careful to bring the tyres up to temperature without overworking them, avoiding any lock-ups at the heaviest braking points, particularly at the end of the longest straights, along which the tyres will suffer a further reduction in surface temperature. Furthermore, low temperatures lead to a reduction in grip and that can cause increased graining.
These factors could lead to a speeding up of the wear process, which suggests a two-stop strategy, which was in fact the most popular choice last year. However, a one-stop can still be quite competitive, especially if the driver gradually brings the tyres up to temperature, prolonging its life over a long stint. Because of the difficulty in warm-up, pitting early to try and make up places with an undercut is not very efficient and in fact, on paper, going longer is a better choice.
Experience gained at last year’s inaugural event will be useful for the teams and for Pirelli. In fact, a great deal of data was acquired relating to grip and the abrasiveness of the track surface and this was shared with the teams, who also provided their simulation data.
The first task on arrival at the track will be to check the initial levels of abrasiveness and grip and them compare them with last year’s numbers, making a track inspection and then analysing the data. Smooth and uninterrupted Thursday sessions will be important to produce further data to help make a more accurate prediction relating to tyre degradation and wear.
As always on a street circuit, red flags and Safety Cars are a strong probability with all the unknowns that can bring, including at the restart in terms of tyre temperature management."
The minimum starting pressures for the tyres will be 28.0 PSI (front) and 26.0 PSI (rear).
2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix - Weather Forecast
Thursday, Nov. 21st - FP1 & FP2
Conditions: Clear to partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 7°C
Chance of rain: 0%
Friday, Nov 22nd - FP3 & Qualifying
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Max. temperature: 10°C
Chance of rain: 0%
Saturday, Nov 23rd - Race
Conditions: Breezy in the evening; otherwise, partly cloudy with a passing shower late
Max. temperature: 13°C
Chance of rain: 55%
Who will be on the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Podium?
Race winner Max Verstappen celebrates with Third placed Sergio Perez on the podium during the first GP on the Strip.
It would be great if the World Drivers' Championship was sealed in the final race in a thrilling, fair manner. However, the 2024 WDC seems likely to be decided this weekend. Red Bull has looked better and Verstappen has taken advantage lately, so he could be able to win the championship in Las Vegas.
In terms of the race, Ferrari could be fighting again for the win in Las Vegas. Leclerc started from Pole Position last year and competed for the victory against the two Red Bulls. Ferrari looks stronger this season and should be in the mix with McLaren and Red Bull.
Of course, if there's rain on Sunday, the race will become almost impossible to predict and the result could give us many surprises.
The prediction for the top three of the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix is 1. Max Verstappen, 2. Lando Norris, 3. Charles Leclerc.
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